Drug testing status clarified at 2007 Tour Of California

During the press conference after stage six of the 2007 Tour of California,
Shawn Hunter, president of event owner AEG Sports, confirmed that testing
for EPO had been being carried out this year at the request of the race's
title sponsor, the biotechnology firm Amgen.

The company, which is one of the world's largest manufacturers of EPO,
had requested that testing take place in the 2006 event, but this request
was seemingly overlooked.

UCI president Pat McQuaid also stated in the same press conference, "As
it is, AEG and the organizers at the Amgen Tour of California have gone
further than the norm that would be required in terms of the testing that
has happened at the race this year," McQuaid said.

"The UCI does blood tests at most but not all but most of the major
ProTour events. Outside of the ProTour events we don't do as many blood
tests. (The Tour Of California) being in its second year would not warrant
the blood test to be done.

"The effort it takes to bring the equipment here and the people
to administer the test is very expensive. The people who administer the
test are specialists and they are trained to read the machines that they
bring so it is very expensive," he said. "At the moment (EPO
blood testing) has only ever been done in Europe. I would certainly say
that as the race progresses in the next year or two and becomes more important
and prestigious, blood tests will be a factor that will be introduced."

The EPO (urine) testing for the 2007 Tour of California, is being conducted
by the WADA-approved UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory in West Los Angeles,
CA, headed by Dr. Don Catlin. But it's understood that this laboratory
can also conduct the more sophisticated EPO blood test. The EPO blood
test can detect the use of synthetic EPO for up to three weeks after use,
whereas the urine test can only detect EPO use within a few days after
being administered.

The UCI's medical officer at the Tour of California, Shawn Farrell, said,
"Yes the race is doing EPO tests at the Tour of California through
urine samples and the tests are all being sent to UCLA (Olympic Analytical
Laboratory)".

Farrell continued, "In terms of blood testing, the system I am familiar
with is that (the UCI) have a set of people they use from the labs in
Switzerland that they send out to various races for blood testing. I don't
know that it has anything to do with where they do the actual testing
of the samples. It has more to do with the where the actual people are
who draw the blood and process it. Up until now they are a very small
group of people located in Europe they have sent them to the US on some
occasions. It doesn't have anything to do with the lab because the stuff
can be tested almost anywhere."

Indurain: "Ullrich was one of the greatest"

By Monika Prell

Five-time Tour winner Miguel Indurain has declared that Jan Ullrich "was
one of the greatest" according to Spanish newspaper Marca. Indurain
also described Ullrich's retirement as a pity but said that the German's
career was impeccable.

"He is one of the few of my era who has always been on the podium, even
if he failed to win more races," continued the Spaniard. "He began very
young at 21 years-old and normally the ideal performance of a cyclist
lasts ten years, and he is now 34."

Indurain did not comment on the possible reasons for Ullrich's retirement
but affirmed that "when you have been at the highest level, you will have
to make a lot of effort to maintain that same level."

3 days of West Flanders ready to grow

By Brecht Decaluwé

The second edition of the 3 days of West Flanders - Johan Museeuw Classics
was presented in Bruges, the capital of West Flanders on Tuesday. The
2.1 classified UCI stage race runs semi-concurrently with the Vuelta a
Murcia and with some reports indicating the Spanish event was in financial
difficulties there were hopes in Belgium of luring more big name riders.
However, the Vuelta a Murcia seems to have recovered from its setback
meaning that the Belgian race will likely feature a similar start list
to last year.

The first Belgian stage race of the season grew out of two local classic
races that decided to amalgamate in 1999. Ever since the new race existed
it has known famous stage winners such Robbie McEwen, Jaan Kirsipuu, David
Millar, Robert Bartko and Niko Eeckhout, who took the final stage and
overall title in last year's edition.

In 2006, the Lion of Flanders, Johan Museeuw, connected his name to the
race and despite the Belgian's recent doping confessions the collaboration
hasn't come to an end. "I'm a man of my word and I wouldn't dream of stepping
down as I just love cycling too much; still some people would love to
see me walk away from the sport," Museeuw told Cyclingnews.

In addition, Museeuw announced he would organise a kids race for 8 to
11 year-olds about an hour before the finish of the big guns. "We have
to work with the youth as within a few years Boonen won't be there anymore.
If there's a benefit for us then I'll re-invest it into youth cycling.
Museeuw bikes offers 25 bikes for kids without a license so they can get
in contact with the sport. I got the idea from the Tour de France where
Nestlé does the same," explained Museeuw, who won the race in 1995 in
its previous incarnation as the Omloop der Vlaamse Ardennen.

The three-time Paris-Roubaix winner also announced that a big sponsor
could be persuaded to invest in the stage race. "The company was a leading
sponsor from one of my former teams," hinted Museeuw. "Even though the
ProTour is at the verge of collapsing it's important that we keep investing
in the sport, and especially in this area."

The organisers have five ProTour teams on their start list with Predictor-Lotto,
Quickstep-Innergetic, Unibet.com, T-Mobile and Discovery Channel. American
Professional Continental squads Team Slipstream and Navigators will be
also be there in West Flanders. To date, the biggest names confirmed to
race are Robbie McEwen, Baden Cooke and Belgian champion Niko Eeckhout.
The course brings the peloton from Kortrijk on March 9 via the Belgian
coast to the typical finale at the village of Ichtegem on March 11.

'Cross world champ visits future host city

Three time Cyclo-cross World Champion Erwin Vervecken has visited the
region that will host next year's World Championships and says he's impressed
with the host city. Vervecken visited the Treviso province and Le Bandie
lake with his wife Liesbeth as guests of the organising committee behind
the 2008 world championships.

"I'm here to discover the 2008 world course and the fascinating Treviso's
landscapes where the Worlds will be held," explained Vervecken.

The reigning champion attended a press conference for the event, where
he had the opportunity to talk with Renato Longo and Daniele Pontoni.

"I know Pontoni well," Vervecken stated, "as he was one of my strongest
opponent for several years. Longo, he is like an icon for all cyclo-cross
riders: he won the World Championships five times, and I hope to do the
same for sure.

While he wasn't present at the press conference, Vervecken singled out
Italian Enrico Franzoi as his largest competitor for next year's world
championships - particularly given the home soil advantage.

"The Treviso World Cup stage was a very positive experience for me,"
Vervecken said. "The course is very nice and I like it so much. I have
the dream to win the third title in a row here, I know there will be a
lot of spectators, including thousands of Belgian fans. It will be an
exciting experience"

Kroon: Broken rib? What broken rib?

Team CSC's Karsten Kroon finished 59th in the Tour of California with
a broken rib, but it wasn't until the Tuesday after the event that the
Dutch rider realised his rib was broken.

"I sat up in bed to sneeze and I almost passed out from the pain. There
was no doubt something was wrong and I went straight to the hospital.
As it turned out there was a gap of about one centimeter in the fracture,"
explained Kroon.

The broken rib, which Kroon didn't discover until he returned home to
Europe, was the result of a crash in the opening stage of the Tour. Despite
undergoing examination, including x-rays, the break went unnoticed.

"They only took pictures of the front, where everything was fine. When
I crashed I hit a pole both at the front and the back of my body and apparently
the damage was at the back," he added.

Kroon will take a few weeks away from racing and on a home trainer but
he is expecting a quick return. It's the second injury Kroon has endured
in as many months, after fracturing his wrist earlier in the year.

"I'm hoping to be able to race again in a couple of weeks, even though
it'll probably hurt a lot longer than that," said Kroon. "My rib was put
back together this morning and I also had some massage and some tape put
on, but there's not much else you can do about it."

Botero presented with UNE Orbitel in Bogota

Santiago Botero has found a new home with Colombian Continental team
UNE Orbitel which held its official presentation in Bogota on Monday evening.
The 34 year-old has spent his last 10 seasons in Europe but will now concentrate
on domestic racing after being implicated in Operación Puerto as
part of the now defunct Phonak team.

"For me it is very important to ride in my home country," said Botero.
"I hope win the Tour of Colombia and go to the time trial at the World
Championships in Stuttgart this year and I want to be on the podium."

Botero was cleared by the Columbian cycling federation of any involvement
in Operación Puerto on November 11 last year. This was due to "lack
of evidence" according to Carlos Vargas, president of the federation's
disciplinary committee.

The UNE Orbital team of 16 Colombian riders will contest races in both
North and South America this season. The team's first race will be the
Vuelta al Valle from March 7 to 11.

Fuerteventura-Canarias sign Ortega

Fuerteventura-Canarias announced the signing of Ximo Ortega to the outfit
in conjunction with its launch yesterday. The 2006 Spanish National Champion
will make his debut as a professional with the outfit this season under
the command of Óscar Guerrero. With the announcement of Ortega's addition
to the squad, the team now consists of 18 riders.

In conjunction with the launch Fuerteventura-Canarias also announced
a new sponsorship deal with Compac.

Team director Óscar Guerrero emphasized importance of Ortega's signing
to the squad. "Ortega reinforces our presence in the sprints," he said.

Guerrero, who had directed to the defunct Kaiku squad in 2005 and 2006,
recognised that cycling is in crisis but believes it will bounce back.

"We are finding people that continue being interested in our sport,"
he observed. "All this demonstrates that we are recovering the lost confidence".

Fuerteventura-Canarias is starting its season at the Vuelta a la Comunidad
Valenciana where it is led by David Bernabéu, who is accompanied by Adrián
Bonilla, David Muñoz, Javier Cherro, Vicente Ballester, David Belda, Oleg
Chuzhda and Dailos Diaz.

"The best opportunity for us will be the fourth and final stage in the
Campello climb," Guerrero told Cyclingnews of his team's tactics.

UIV confirm Six Day dates

The Union Internationale des Vélodromes confirmed dates for all
of its six day events for the 2007/2008 season at its annual meeting in
Manchester on the weekend. UIV publicly announced the dates for its 13
European Six Day events following the meeting and are as follows (below).

The UIV has also confirmed its Talents Cup in Madison for Under 25 riders
will continue as well as the re-election of its president Henrik Elmgreen.
The re-elected president will stay on for a further two years, having
served at the head of the organisation since 1991.

Laos gets UCI stage race

Cycling in Asia continues to grow following the announcement by event
organisers that the first Tour of Laos will run in November of this year.
The UCI 2.2 race will be the first international road race held in the
Lao People's Democratic Republic, and organisers claim it will be the
country's largest sporting event.

The five stage Tour will cover 745km and give cyclists unique access
to the notorious Ho Chi Minh trail - made famous by its use in the first
and second Indochina wars.

"Invitations will be issued to leading teams from around the world, so
that all the Continents will be represented in the field of 120 riders,"
said a statement from the organisers. "As the Tour is scheduled to end
shortly prior to the start of the South East Asia Games (SEA Games), countries
eligible for the games will be using the Tour as their final proving ground
for their SEA Games teams."

The Tour has the full support Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh's office,
along with further support from the provincial and city administrations
and the Ministry of Tourism.

Whilst the race route has not yet been finalised, the Tour will be starting
from Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The route will then head either north
to Luang Prabang or south to Paxse, depending on final discussions with
the Government and sponsors.